I recently stumbled upon a blog called Living the Lai, and in it found an article titled 4 Things Women Can Do To Impress A Guy During The World Cup. I guess the title is self-explanatory, but while it is a good concept, I did disagree with a few of the things in the piece and decided to “piggy-back” on the author’s (Christopher Lai) suggestions with my own ideas of what girlfriends, wives or any other females that will be watching the matches while knowing little or nothing about football, should or shouldn't do. Believe me, I’m not trying to be sexist. I am a “fanatic” football supporter for both club and country and have been with my wife for 12 years now, she will be the first person to tell you that all of the suggestions below will really help you out in your relationship with a true football supporter. If you would like to read Christopher’s article Click Here

The “Part-Time” football guy

The biggest thing you must understand is that if your boyfriend or husband watches football only during a major tournament like a World Cup or a European Championship that means one of two things: A) he only likes the hype of a major tournament, in which case you just need to know what team(s) he supports and that’s all. If you do too much research about his team, the history of the World Cup and other tournaments and learn every player’s name you will probably make your guy look stupid because chances are he has no clue about any of those things! There’s also option B) your man is from, or is of the background of one of the countries participating. In the case that you guys are from different backgrounds, please don’t make the ultimate mistake; please don’t change your own background to fit his. You can certainly cheer his country on and enjoy their success (if they achieve any), but please please please do not do the following 2 things:

Don’t start saying crap you don’t understand in his language, it sounds horrible and makes you sound stupid to those around you, especially if they are from that country.

Don’t EVER side with his country when they are playing against yours! Men are competitive by nature, and most of us would actually prefer you show pride in your nation so we can rub it in your face when ours wins

Recently hooked-up

If you just started dating a football guy don’t go over the top with finding out everything there is to know about his team. Knowing too much too soon can seem a bit creepy, especially if it is clear that you don’t have much football knowledge but know every detail about his favorite team. You can show some interest, but we don’t expect you know every little thing.

Dressing for the occasion?

We do like to see our “better halves” wear our team’s gear. Yes, it’s sexy and shows immediately that we have your support. But what makes it even more special is if you put our team’s jersey on during random occasions as well, not just when they play. There’s no better feeling than going shopping with your girlfriend or wife while she wears your favorite team’s jersey. I cannot tell you whether you should wear “booty-shorts” or “skinny jeans”, that’ll always depend on the kind of man you’re with. That said, major tournaments are usually a pretty good invitation for ladies to dress a bit “sexier” than they usually would.

Match-time etiquette

If you're going to watch the match with your guy (especially in public) here are some key things to keep in mind:

Ask all the questions about the sport or particular fixture when you are alone. The last thing your man wants to do during a match is slap his own forehead when you ask him something like "why don't they stop the clock when the ball goes out of bounds?" or "who's performing at half-time?".

Don't scream louder than everyone else. It seems that there's always the one girl who's pipes are fit for a truck horn. Cheer and be loud, but not loud enough to wake up the homeless guy across the street.

Don't take off your shirt when his team scores. While most guys around you will enjoy the view, your man may not. The fact that everyone has a camera on their phones now days will land you on YouTube in an instant, and will probably get you your own entry on our site as well. Honestly, we don't care if you offer us your life savings, we will not take your photo off.

When we win

When your man’s team wins, embrace the occasion and celebrate with him, but don’t go over the top. If you’re at the pub or meeting with friends it’s your guy’s chance to “stick-it” to others and talk about the great victory that was. Don’t take the spotlight away from him because that win is a lot more important for him than it is for you. Let him bask in the glory.

When we lose

This is probably the major difference in opinion I have to that of the blog I previously had mentioned. Of course, you should show some compassion, but again, do not make it a priority. If your man is a true football fan he is now devastated.

Don’t try too hard to cheer him up because we don’t want to be cheered-up after a loss. What we want, is to replay the game over and over in our heads so we can understand (or pretend to understand) why this just happened.

Don’t go on and on with clichés like: “there’s always next time” or “it’ll be ok”. First of all, no, it’s not going to be ok, because we will be watching another team raising the trophy. And secondly, maybe there’s no next time, maybe I support Ghana and this is the closes we will ever come in my lifetime. Especially when major tournaments are concerned, the chance to win the big match comes only once in 2-4 years, who is to say that our favorite team will even win.

Whatever you do, don’t all of a sudden switch to cheer on a different team for the remainder of the tournament.

Note: these notes are meant for ladies who know and recognize that they are not too much into football. Follow these suggestions and you should have a great time during this World Cup (until your man’s team loses of course).